On Food and Cooking

been cultivated since classical times; and
some wild carrot populations. The familiar
orange carrot, the richest vegetable source of
the vitamin A precursor beta-carotene,
appears to have been developed in Holland in
the 17th century. There are also Asian carrot
varieties whose roots are red with lycopene,
the tomato carotenoid. Carotene carrots have
the practical advantage of retaining their oil-
soluble pigments in water-based dishes, while
anthocyanin carrots bleed their water-soluble
colors into soups and stews.
The distinctive aroma of carrots is due
largely to terpenes (p. 273), and is a
composite of pine, wood, oil, citrus, and
turpentine notes; cooking adds a violet-like
note from fragmented carotene. White
varieties tend to be the most strongly
aromatic. Exposure to sunlight, high
temperatures, or physical damage can cause
the roots to generate alcohol, which adds to
the solvent-like aroma, as well as a bitter